Jesse Matthew admits to murders of two college students as part of plea deal

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- (WTKR) -- Jesse Matthew will serve four consecutive life sentences for the murders of two Virginia college students.

The former cab driver pleaded guilty to both murders as part of a deal entered in court Wednesday afternoon.

Matthew was charged in the deaths of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student, and Hannah Graham, who went to UVA.

Both of their families say they support the plea deal.

Matthew will not be eligible for early release or geriatric release as a condition of the deal.

He will no longer face any chance of getting the death penalty, as he will no longer face a July capital murder trial for Graham’s murder. However, he will never again pose a threat to public safety, officials said.

His admission comes more than six years after the Harringtons first learned of their daughter’s demise.

Last year, a judge sentenced Matthew to three life sentences for the 2005 sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax, Virginia. The DNA in that case tied together all cases.